HTTP to HTTPS Question
-
Hello,
I have a question regarding SSL Certificates I think I know the answer to but wanted to make sure. One of our clients’ site uses http for their pages but when they started creating Registration forms they created a full duplicate site on https (so now there are two versions of all of the pages).
I know due to duplicate concerns this could be an issue and needs to resolved (as well as the pros and cons of both) but if they are already set up with https does it make sense to just move everything there or in some instances would it pay to keep some pages http (using canonical tags, redirects, htccess…etc)? – Most of the information I found related to making the decision prior to having both or describing the process but I couldn’t find anything that specifically related to if both are already present.
I thought that the best approach because everything’s already set up is to just move everything over to the more secure one but was curious if anybody had any insight?
Thank you in advance.
-
Thank you Bernadette for that response and help. That’s what I thought would be the solution. Am I correct in assuming that because the http version is currently being indexed that there would most likely be an associated temporary drop in results while Google sorts everything out? – Because they are a seasonal-heavy business I’m trying to plan this accordingly so any experience/insight would be appreciated.
Thanks again.
-
Ben, Tom is right. Having both versions out there can lead to duplicate content issues, especially if the site is linking to both versions of the site (which tends to happen). The best option is to make EVERY page on the site HTTPs, and move completely away from HTTP in its entirety. You should set up 301 permanent redirects so that all HTTP pages get redirected to HTTPs.
Don't forget to verify the HTTPs version of the site in Google Search Console, and if you have done anything with the Disavow Tool you'll want to upload a new disavow file for HTTPs, as well.
-
Thank you Tom for your response. Currently only the http pages come up for the ‘site:’ search. I was considering implementing Search Console on the ‘https’ site to make sure it’s not being indexed…thoughts?
If the https version is not yet being indexed, as a preventative measure should we still migrate the site to the secure version (while pagerank is unaffected) or does it pay to go through every page that does not need it and keep as http?
Thanks again in advance.
Best,
-
Hi Ben,
Having both running I think is the worst outcome. If you do a site:https://domain.com query what pages show up? If you've got the https pages showing, then you're already indexed. I would personally look at moving fully over to https as long as all of the canonicals etc are all working properly.
Now is the best time to do the migration, due to http->https pages not losing pagerank (or apparently redirects not losing pagerank either)
Tom
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Would you redirect Website A to Website B, when Website B is in the middle of a HTTP=>HTTPS migration?
Hey guys, I'm curious on your thoughts around this scenario... Website A: 35,000 monthly pageviews 1,000 pages 375 root linking domains currently HTTPS focused on one topic weak rankings for competitive keywords Website B: 3M monthly pageviews 32,500 pages 3,500 root linking domains started HTTP to HTTPS migration 1 week ago. 1/3 of pages indexed as HTTPS. focused on many topics strong rankings for competitive keywords Requirement: I want to have a reliable read on how Website A's keyword rankings change after redirecting it's pages to Website A. This post-migration analysis will be used as a basis to assess the risk of redirecting another website we own that is similar to Website A into Website B. My question: Would you wait until most of the pages on Website B are indexed as HTTPS before doing a 301 of Website A to Website B? Please back up your answer with reasons why or why not 🙂
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | jeremycabral0 -
SEO Menu Question
I have a question regarding to the SEO benefits of different types of menus. Recently, I have noticed an increasing number of websites with the sort of menu like at www.sportsdirect.com, where there is only one main dropdown and then everything is a sub-menu of the sub-menus if that makes sense. Is this approach more, less or equal beneficial to what you see at http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ where there are multiple initial dropdown menus? Appreciate the feedback.
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | simonukss0 -
Client has moved to secured https webpages but non secured http pages are still being indexed in Google. Is this an issue
We are currently working with a client that relaunched their website two months ago to have hypertext transfer protocol secure pages (https) across their entire site architecture. The problem is that their non secure (http) pages are still accessible and being indexed in Google. Here are our concerns: 1. Are co-existing non secure and secure webpages (http and https) considered duplicate content?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | VanguardCommunications
2. If these pages are duplicate content should we use 301 redirects or rel canonicals?
3. If we go with rel canonicals, is it okay for a non secure page to have rel canonical to the secure version? Thanks for the advice.0 -
Local Listing Question
We will be starting local SEO efforts on a medical practice that has 4 locations & 15 doctors each location (so 60 listings total). I will submit each doctor & each location to InfoGroup, LocalEze, Axciom & Factual. Also, I will only submit each location (not doctors) to Google. The problem I'm seeing is the fact that each listing would have the same exact phone number - it all goes to one main routing center. What kind of problems could come of this? Do we need a separate phone numbers for each of the four locations (at the very least)?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | JohnWeb120 -
Problem with Google reading https homepage?
Hi Moz Community, In July, we changed our homepage to https via a 301 redirect from http (the only page on our site with https). Our homepage receives an A grade in the ‘On Page Grader’ by Moz for our desired keyword. We have increased our backlink efforts directly to our homepage since we switched to the SSL homepage. However, we still have not increased in search ranking for our specific keyword. Is there something we could have missed when doing the 301 redirect (submitting a new sitemap, changing rotbots.txt files, or anything else??) that has resulted in Google not correctly accessing the https version? (the https page has been indexed by Google). Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | G.Anderson0 -
Question on starting again after being penalised for bad links
Hi, in a scenario where you have been heavily penalised for bad links but the quality of your site is good, If you put the exact same version of your penalised site on a new domain (with no redirects), would Google recognise it and penalise it again, or would that give it a completely fresh start? Any advice or experience with this would be much appreciated. Thanks.
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | em_welsby1 -
A Question for all Link Outreach Guys (Especially Blog Outreach)
Our SEO agency is considering hiring a new SEO consultant, specifically for outreach, with a strong focus on (quality) blog outreach. I know how many successful posting I expect to get per month doing the work myself, but I wanted to make sure that I expected realistic amounts from a new (already experienced) staff member (just to be fair to them!), Soooooo... I thought I would throw a question at other folks, and try to come up with a rough average number, to make sure I don't expect too much (or too little) from the new guy! Now, obviously this varies depending on niche etc, but I am just asking for an approx. average, using search queries like: _"blog posting guidelines" "[niche here]" _ (Plus using feedburner searches, etc... usual blog outreach tactics!) Also bear in mind that the outreacher will be based in the office, and content will be written for them by professional writers. The question is... As an experienced blog outreacher, based on the above info, how many successful posts would you expect to get per month, assuming a 35hr to 40hr work week (Mon-Fri). Cheers guys! I look forward to your opinions... I think it will be interesting to see how much the answers vary! UPDATE: - So far only Casey seems willing to share 🙂 Nobody else willing to chip in?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | MikeGracia0